


have you ever felt like atlas threw your back out on the axis

by paaxanthus



Category: Half-Life, Hunt Down The Freeman (Video Game)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Protective Siblings, please mind the tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:08:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25584139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paaxanthus/pseuds/paaxanthus
Summary: Mitch just wants to keep his brother safe. Running away with him seemed like a good idea.
Relationships: Mitchell Shephard & Adrian Shephard
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17





	have you ever felt like atlas threw your back out on the axis

Mitch watched the blood and water flow down the sink’s drain. God, he had _really_ screwed up their chances of _ever_ being able to set foot in their home again. But that didn’t matter. What mattered was that outside of this motel bathroom, the scene of his breakdown, his little brother was sitting on one of the beds. Adrian was out there, and he was okay. It didn’t matter that Mitch _almost definitely_ had a cracked rib, or that there would _definitely_ be bruises in the morning, because Adrian hadn’t gotten hurt.

Their parents had been fighting again, and they had always seen Mitch and Adrian as a target for their pent-up rage. Adrian especially. The kid was soft-spoken, gentle. The opposite of them. The opposite of Mitch, even. As much as he hated to admit it, he was also prone to the vitriolic rage he had been raised with. But somehow, Adrian was kind. And if it meant protecting that, Mitch would become as tough and as stoic as he needed to be. 

Adrian had been backed against the wall, trying to block out and ignore the venomous words being spit at him. Something about seeing Adrian like that _broke_ something in Mitch. A crack that had slowly grown in the dam holding back his rage had been growing for years, and suddenly it wasn’t a crack anymore. Suddenly, the dam had burst and he had punched their father in the face. He had felt the crunch of cartilage under his fist, felt the warm blood begin to flow.

He had scooped up Adrian and rushed for the old red pickup truck outside, thankful he always kept his keys on him and some cash stashed in the glove compartment, hidden between the pages of the truck’s manual. Without looking back, he had driven away. _Fuck_ them. If it was just him and Adrian against the world, then so be it. For all the rough edges there were to Mitch, he let his baby brother be the one soft spot. 

So there they were. He had taken Adrian and ran, and there he was, trying not to completely break down as he locked himself away in the bathroom. Breathe. Splash some water on his face. He needed to get his racing thoughts under control. Sure, Adrian hadn’t been hurt physically, but there was no way he wasn’t _at least_ equally upset by this. He sucked in another breath before letting himself out.

“Hey, kid. You okay?” he asked in the softest voice he could muster. Adrian looked up, nodding, but a sob wracked his body. Mitch shot him a concerned look. After a moment, he shook his head. Mitch approached slowly, sitting down on the bed next to Adrian. “... Do you want a hug?” Adrian nodded.

Adrian clung to his brother like a koala, letting himself cry as Mitch comforted him. Mitch seemed… unsure, to say the least, when insisting they’d be okay, but Adrian knew in his heart that no matter what, Mitch would keep him safe. They’d figure something out. It’d be okay in the end.

The weight of the world is a lot to carry at age seventeen.

For Adrian? Mitch would carry that weight any day.

**Author's Note:**

> sometimes you gotta stream of consciousness word salad about the shephard brothers because you got brainworms and now you're invested and you **aaaaaaaaaaa**  
>  goodnight everyone my brain is mush. god bless  
> fic title from laplace's angel (hurt people? hurt people!) by will wood


End file.
